Randomness, a picture, and a link

First of all, I would like to apologize for the venom of the last post. I still mean what I said, and said what I meant... but this is supposed to be my writing blog, not the sick pathway into what I watch when I am bored and should be writing or editing...

On that note: the Edit of book I is done, the edit of book II has begun. I'm having trouble sticking to it again... I work for a day or two, take several days off... and sit there thinking, what the fark are you going to do when NaNo strikes? There is no putting off at NaNo time!

And speaking of foolishment right before NaNo - you have no doubt noticed the lovely journal picture, yes? I have written the words "By Bettie Lee Turner" on the first page, on the 2nd page I have written "Chapter One" and beneath that, these words:

The enemy came to him, craven and wasted, as they all became in the end.

I don't know what that means, it might be completely destroyed and rewritten at some point, but I'm sure it has to do with the lovely lady on the cover of the journal (by artist Selina Fenech - she is fairy magic!). I don't think she's the enemy, and obviously, she's not male... but I have a story I plan on handwriting in this journal. Just a paragraph or two at a time. I'm sure no one will care about it until I'm a famous, in demand author. (Aw, you look so cute when you grab your belly and laugh!)

Speaking of laughing... ok, I have no segway into this last bit, but I do have a song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVlJAi3Cso

I see people talk about "soundtracks" for their writing projects all the time, and I never quite got what they meant. My responses to questions of "soundtracks" were probably way off the mark, because I thought they meant "what do you listen to while writing" - which is far different from having songs that MATCH what you are writing. Well, I finally have a song for Jale and Baerwen. Except their love is not ill fated. Sorry. I guess that's a dealbuster, telling folk they aren't going to break up, but the song does match what's going on in the story, and I'm even bein' all writerly and adjusting some of their backstory to match (coming in Spiritcaster: stay tuned!!) Much of the Dragongar stories, which people assume have "tropes" because I have dragon/human bonding, prophesy, etc, was about bucking tropes. Jale and Baerwen are FOREVER! If you don't like it, you can suck it. (and just because they don't break up... doesn't mean that one of them doesn't die! duh duhh duuhhn.....)

Last random thing: if someone comes to me with a button to push to get a million dollars, I'm pushin' it. Sorry. I'm a bad, bad girl...

/random

Sorry guys...

As a blogger, there are times when you have access to people and you also have access to giving off your rage.

I am sorry this is not a writing entry... this is about that dumb ugly bitch Julia on Rehab Party at the Hard Rock.

She's not a nice person.

I don't like her and think she should get over herself.

Now I'm going back to watch ghosty tv.

More editing later.

This is why you shouldn't watch pop culture crap, when you are not a pop culture fan. You lash out inappropriately on your blog. Live and learn, kids. Live and Learn.

The Blogman Badge

CR Ward over at http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com nominated me for the Blogman Badge! apparently, you must go through a series of rites in order to post this on your blog:

1. Tell us your favorite superhero and why
2. Copy the badge and post it to your blog
3. Present the badge to five other worthy bloggers
4. Post links to five people you nominate
5. Let your nominees know they've been chosen

To perform the First Rite:

So - to perform the first rite: I shall tell you of my deep affection for Wonder Woman. Yes. She of the American Flag turned Bustier. She not only had an invisible plane and the lasso of truth, but the strength of the Amazon, the gifts given her by Aphrodite, man-killing beauty, and bracelets... that could repel bullets. Her accessories did not define her, they made her look good, and they kicked ass, too!

I think my love of Wonder Woman had to do with the simple fact that she was a brunette. I know how stupid this sounds, but hear me out. I had an older, beautiful sister with pale, perfect skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. In the seventies, this was the definition of beauty. They were everywhere, and anywhere there was a blonde, there was a mousy brunette (often with glasses, another of my afflictions) standing in her shadow. Charlie’s Angels: the only brunette was brainy and sorta mean. Three’s Company: Chrissy Snow was the beauty. Janet Wood was smart and sensible, but clearly took a back seat to the blonde. I was an avid reader of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, and she also had a pretty sister with long, blonde hair that Laura always admired, suggesting that somehow, she came up short for having brown hair.

Wonder Woman didn’t take second seat to anybody! She was tough, sexy, took risks, and was never in anyone’s shadow. Yeah, I know, she wears a leotard. The bustier is a bit much. And all of a sudden, she can fly due to some weird, alien technology because the damn plane got stuck on some alien planet. Also - the theme music on the 70’s tv show? Listen to it, and not start spinning around and thinking of uses for the Lasso of Truth!

Now: the 2nd rite:

Rites 3 and 4

Sarah Dooley at Dooley Noted http://swdooley.blogspot.com/ I wish I could write like this woman.

Spamwarrior at How to be a Perfect Lady http://theperfectlady.wordpress.com/ This girl is the blogjam-master!!

Steve at Steven’s Spot http://smsarber.blogspot.com/ One of my support system, who beats health demons and is dedicated to his sobriety

Jade at Jade hears voices : http://jadehearsvoices.blogspot.com/ Another whose bloggums make me jealous

Adam at Editing Hat : http://editinghat.blogspot.com/ An all-around joyous gentleman, and damn funny.

please note that I didn’t name sparklepeaches or Lori, because Adam will want to....

and rite 5: done via AW and blog comments.

I shall blather on tomorrow about my edits. For now, I shall revel in my newfound status.

No Time to Blog!

Seriously! I realize there are only 9 days left in the month, and I wanted to be done with the edit of The Unicorn Conspiracy by month end. The reason : this book already had a polish that got rid of nasty adverbs and passive phrases. What it needs is story smoothing! Next month is the heavy lifting: The Truthsayer's Plot. There's very little of the "Plot" (yes, notice the capital P!) in there. But I am setting the bricks for the Plot now, so go figure. Then NaNoWriMo and what I am tentatively calling "The Spiritcaster" or "The Dragongar and the Spiritcaster" - but that sounds a little too Harry Potter.

I'm very happy with the changes I'm making, but that foolishness last post )about changing the beginning to start with Darik stealing the ***** {mystery meat!}) would just be stupid. All the tension started with "what is the Queen doing" would be lost. So, I still need to figure out the first chapter. Oh well. That can wait. I'm doing the rest of the editing, and happy to find some of the rocks I've left strewn around are helping me get over the rapids! It's great when that happens. I found a boy wandering around, and he's in the perfect place for me to change his identity and weave in a subplot I forgot.

So - there is no time for blogging, or tv! No time for Paranormal State! Butt in Chair time, Now!

In It! and breaking the rules...

Listening to: the long awaited Pearl Jam album, Backspacer.

It is phenomenal.

Well, I got serious work in today. Not as much as I would like, but unfortunately I see some road blocks. I may be needing a serious beta reader for one chapter. You know all those rules we're not supposed to break unless we know what we're doing? Yeah. Those are being shattered all over. It's the introduction of one of my main characters. My boy awakens from a dream (just a little snatch of a dream, which is one of the themes) in the hayloft of an inn's barn, and beside him is a large pearlescent egg. The scene that follows imparts important info about the world and the dragons to the reader, moves the story forward and has lots of characterization. Most of the chapter introducing him is his backstory of how he got there. All of it is absolutely CRUCIAL. I think it's got several great hooks, as I wrote the whole thing trying to draw the reader through the chapter. Rediscovering it during the edit, I am actually very happy with it, and I would hate to change it because THE RULES say I should. I hope it's engaging enough to stand. OR - this could be rewritten and be the opening scene of the book. I always saw the first scene involving Jale and the Dragongar, as these are the tales of the Dragongar.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

I guess time will tell.

On Do Not Disturb

Only when you acknowledge something can you begin to foster change... or something like that. I am easily derailed when I am bummed. And I am not a happy camper right now. I've had two blow-ups come smack me in the face over the last two weeks, over miscommunications. One was probably my fault, the 2nd was not. This is why I am a hermit. I don't like people. They upset me. Then... the mother f'ers I rent from claim I paid my rent an hour late in New York. Of course, I live in California, so you can see why that would piss me off. I now owe the rent-nazi's $52 that I don't have. That's about 1/3 of what I have to live on after bills are paid. Again, you can see why I'm not happy. Even eating catfood, I'm gonna have trouble this month.

These are the excuses I have used for not editing my novel, like I should be. So, tonight, I'm going to stop by the big corporate box store and buy what little kibble I can afford to eat, then the pet store to buy the high quality, expensive cat food for the kitty. When that is done, I'm putting the tv remote controls way up high in the closet, turning my phone off, locking my door, making some coffee, putting on my sweats and a pair of big girl panties and knuckling down on the first 200 pages of the WIP.

The Editing Blues

Well. That high is over. I spent two days working on my first chapter rewrite - being redone from the bones up. I think it' pretty good, but I've to the realisation that it may be all circus and no concession stand. In other words, is there really anything in this chapter for the reader to eat? I think it's exciting, there's a hook, danger, intrigue and a lure to lead the reader through the scene. Only... I seem to have forgotten about the drug war that is such a big deal in the next chapter. So I give the reader all this information (and it feels like there is so much information...) and then I have to give him more in the next. I have become very sensitive to the infodumps (as do all who spend any time on the Absolute Water Cooler...)

This isn't the only crises of faith. When I began this foolhardy adventure, my plan was a trilogy. Then I find out no one buys a trilogy, they buy the first book and if you're lucky, you get to do the second one. This trilogy is sort of based around the foolishness of a prophesy. Why have a prophesy if it's going to happen no matter what? It's rare that a prophesy says "Be on the corner of first and main on April 2nd or else..." It's always "Ben shall be born into a family of left handed gypsys and shall bring about their DHOOOOOmmmm...." Then all the left handed gypsys try to marry right handed gypsys so they won't have a family of left handed gypsys. Then... along comes young love among two foolish left handed gypsys, and along comes Ben, to destroy the peace of ten thousand years of gypsydom just like the prophesy said. So, I have a prophesy, and only the first step of it is completed by the end of this book. Obvious cliffhanger.

It looks like I might have to tell a backstory of the Dragongar. I know they are out there. My characters are adults, my female MC is around 28, and I could easily go back in time. I might have to delve into the reason the Brickmasters and Masons Guild are such rabid supporters of the Dragongar and all they do. Gah. National Novel Writing Month might come early to the house of Dragongar...

There would be a good side to this foolishment. I know this world backwards and forewards. I have maps. Histories. Family trees. "What the shell" occasionally flies out of my mouth. I could also delve more into the love of Baerwen and Jale, and Jale's family tragedy. I think I'm a much better writer now, and don't think it will take me 6 months to write one 500 page story.

Somebody - say a prayer for my sanity. Please.

ETA: I know I was just saying "I'm writing a trilogy, and you can all laugh at me for it" in a thread on AW. Feel free to laugh at me for reversing myself. It is simply that I realise I can't make book one END without seriously screwing with my idea, and I don't want to do that.